2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Friends,
Since today is Sunday, I got my weekly “spiritual shot” this morning. That’s how I feel about the experience of going to church and teaching my Sunday school class on the book of Hebrews. This experience is spiritually analogous to a very allergic person who goes to a doctor once a week for a treatment, relieving him from the ill effects of allergens that increase in intensity as the week progresses. We are so flooded with the lies, deceptions, and foolishness of the world during our time away from direct study of the Word and prayer that these “spiritual shots” taken in church are life savers in the grave-transcending sense of the word.
Our Lord is directing me to talk about the importance of sticking squarely to Gospel truths this morning with you. I know this, because I had another subject in mind, one which I will share with you when the Lord tells me the time is right. But, this morning false prophesy was on His mind. The way this works is that my pastor (who had no idea what my plan was) discusses it in his sermon and then I went into my class to talk about my original subject, and the class brings me around to a discussion of the one on the Lord’s mind-even though some of them have yet to hear the pastor’s sermon! Who am I to question the Lord’s wisdom or timing???!
We know it is prophesied that there will be an increase in the dissemination of false prophecy as the time for the tribulation draws near. Our pastor spoke about our need to get our spiritual houses in order ASAP, because we don’t know the time the Lord will come for us, but it could be any time. I hope you will read 2 Peter 3: 1-22 in which the Lord makes clear through Peter how to recognize false prophets and what their fate will be.
2 Peter 3: 17 “These people are like dried up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness.”
1 THESS. 5: 2; 2 Peter 3: 10; MT 24: 42 “For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” “Be on your guard, then, because you don not know what day your Lord will come.”
Temptation to stray from God’s truths is nothing new. God spoke about the effects of this several times in Proverbs in a very practical sense.
PR 14: 5 “A reliable witness always tells the truth, but an unreliable one tells nothing but lies.”
PR 12: 17 “When you tell the truth , justice is done but lies lead to injustice.”
Our Lord loves us so much that He repeats His warnings against false prophecy over and over again in the Scriptures. Christ’s teachings on this subject are particularly clear in his explanation in Matthew.
MT 7: 15 “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.”
MT 15: 14: [Christ speaking to his disciples about the Pharisees] “Do not worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.”
By now you’re saying, “where is Lynn going with this?” The answer is that we are surrounded by the temptation to get off course from the truth. It comes from the media. It comes from cults and other religious systems campaigning to increase their membership. It comes from advertisers trying to convince vulnerable young people that they should worship their bodies and other creations. It comes from people luring you to believe that “organized religion is for the weak-minded.” It comes from groups who take Scriptures out of context and plug them into artificial man-made constructs. Dear Friends, it is all around us!
The next obvious question is: what should we do? Is there any defense we can mount? The answer to that in staying grounded in God’s Word. For it is through our understanding of it that we find the discernment to recognize what is truth and what is a lie. It is by knowing and believing in God’s truth that we also recognize that our loving Abba has equipped us to do spiritual warfare and come out victorious.
HE 4: 12 “The Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way to where the soul and the spirit meet, to where the joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.”
Let me leave you with this all important admonition that Paul gave to Timothy in preparation for turning over to the latter the leadership of the church.
2 TIM 1: 13-14 “Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, guard the treasure that has been entrusted to you.”
I hope that you will feel the warmth of our Lord’s nearness and His gentle, guiding hands as you strive to guard the treasure of His Word entrusted to you in your own lives. If you will do this, I know in my heart you will also feel the warmth of His love too.
PRAYER: O Lord, You guide us into a life of faith in Your Word, because You love us enough to want us to live victoriously, and not suffer spiritual death. You are to be thanked and praised for that. Help us to guard the treasure of Your Word entrusted to us and to know that it is the only way to eternal life. Give us the courage to reject lies and endure whatever persecution might come our way for taking this action. Amen.
Grace and Peace to You,
Lynn